Motherhood
by DatNuttyKid
Summary: A tale of fate, dreams, tragedy, and hope. Marin seeks her destiny in the sleepy town of Hateno Village and quickly realizes the part she has to play in the fate of Hyrule. Original characters with less than original names. Written as a side story to "Legends of the Champions". Rated K Plus for mature themes.


A scream echoed through Hateno Village. The normally sleepy town was filled with hubbub on this day – the day a legend would be born.

In a house on the very edge of the village, across the stream that ran into Firly Pond, a woman named Medilia was going through labor.

"Breathe, Medilia," her nursemaid, Marin, said, attempting to calm her down. "It'll all be over soon." The door to the house swung open and Marin's husband, Tarin, rushed in. "Did you send for Sir Rune?" Marin asked.

Tarin nodded. "The child is coming two weeks early. It's hard to say when he'll be here."

Sir Rune, the child's father and Medilia's husband, was a greatly honored member of the Knights of Hyrule. As such, he commonly left Medilia at home by herself, as she was when she suddenly realized the child was coming. Marin was a few years younger than Medilia and hardly experienced, but had been trained by her grandmother and was the most suitable nursemaid within a reasonable distance.

It wasn't long before the child came. "It's a boy," Marin gushed. "He's beautiful."

"Let me hold him," Medilia requested through strained breaths. Marin gently set the baby boy in her arms.

"Do you know what you're naming him?" Tarin asked.

Medilia nodded. "Rune and I discussed it and we agreed that, if the child was a boy, he would be named after the great heroes of legend… for he, too, will someday be a great hero. His name… will be Link."

…

Marin stood on her porch, watching Sir Rune and Link across the road. It had been two years since Link was born. His father had come home just in time for his birthday and gifted him a small, wooden sword. Though the child was barely able to speak, he was now being trained for his predetermined destiny as a knight. Marin would be lying if she claimed she fully agreed with his parents' choices.

Her less-than-friendly thoughts were interrupted by her husband's appearance at the gate to the village. She ran to meet him in an embrace – it had been several days since he had departed to apply for the Knights of Hyrule himself. "How did it go?" she asked.

"I've been accepted," he responded with a proud smile. Marin squeezed him tighter in celebration – though inside, she felt her heart shatter into a million pieces.

Was it wrong to hope her husband would fail to achieve his dreams? Perhaps – nay, almost certainly. Fortunately, Marin had given up on being a perfect woman long ago.

Marin was only now sixteen. She was the youngest and only daughter of a poor family, so she had married Tarin, the son of successful merchants, at the young age of thirteen to gain wealth for her sick parents while her brothers were off doing who-knows-what across the kingdom. She had been lucky enough to feel true love for her husband, despite the unfortunate circumstances of their wedding, but their lives always felt like they were on different paths – Marin dreamed of a small, happy farm in the middle of Hateno Village, where she would raise her own children. Tarin dreamed of heroism as a Knight of Hyrule. And now that he was eighteen, his dream would be realized – and Marin's crushed.

Of course, Marin had never shared these dreams with Tarin. Although she loathed her mother's claims that a wife remains silent, she couldn't bring herself to stop Tarin from pursuing his goals. Every time he spoke of the knights, a massive grin would overtake his face. What kind of a monster would she be if she destroyed that joy?

"When do you leave?" she asked once the celebration had ended.

"As soon as I can," he responded. "I'll have to pack, of course, but then it's off to the castle. Goddess, Marin, can you believe it? Me. Sir Tarin, of the Knights of Hyrule."

"Of course I can believe it, Tarin," she responded, smiling. "I've always known you could do it."

Tarin grinned and kissed her. Seeing him so happy, it almost distracted Marin from the ache of losing him for even longer.

…

This time apart was harder than the last. Not necessarily due to Tarin's absence, although that was, of course, quite difficult. No, this time, Marin's mother, Anju, had taken it upon herself to move into Marin and Tarin's house to "take care of her". Marin understood that her mother actually needed taken care of herself – she was getting old and had never been healthy, and her husband had died a year prior, so she was almost certainly lonely, although she would never admit such a thing.

"This house is dreadfully dusty," the old woman huffed regularly. If Marin had ever felt like enraging her mother further, she could have mimicked the complaints perfectly in sync. "What if Tarin comes home tomorrow to this awful mess?"

Her responses varied from respectful:

"You're right, Mother. It is about time I cleaned again."

To sarcastic:

"He'll probably love me just as much as he did before, Mother."

But the one response she truly wanted to give never passed her lips:

"Why don't you pick up a cloth and clean it yourself, you old hag?"

Still, Marin was quite sad when her mother did finally pass four years later, taken by a nasty flu. Fortunately, word reached Tarin and he managed to arrive home just in time for Anju's funeral. Anju's sons made no such appearance, to no one's surprise.

Marin could tell throughout the day that Tarin had news he was dying to share, though he kept it to himself out of respect. But finally, as they prepared for bed, she couldn't take it any longer. "What is it?"

"Pardon?" Tarin asked, playing dumb.

"I know you have something you want to tell me, you silly fool," Marin retorted. "What is it?"

Tarin tried to hide the smile that was quickly spreading across his face. "I didn't want to tell you until you had a chance to mourn, but if you insist…" He cleared his throat. "I have been granted a special order from the king himself. I am to accompany Sir Rune on a diplomatic mission to Zora's Domain."

"That's wonderful, Tarin," Marin said, smiling at his giddiness.

"It gets better," he responded. "Because the mission is an attempt to strengthen our ties with the Zora, the king has requested that we represent the families of the people of Hyrule, to show the Zora the heart and soul of our kingdom."

Marin blinked, processing this. "Are you saying…?"

"Yes," Tarin replied. "He has asked that you join me." Marin was unable to meet Tarin's wide grin with one of her own. "Is something wrong? You're not excited."

"I'm excited for you," Marin replied, forcing a smile as best as she could. "But I'm… I'm hardly suited for a trek to Zora's Domain." The path was notoriously overrun with monsters.

"Sir Rune and I will be fully equipped to defend our group from monsters, of course," Tarin assured her. "But the king said monster sightings in that area have been few and far between. I'm certain we will be safe."

Marin was still uneasy. Her grandmother had told her to trust her intuition, and yet…

"This meeting could change the fate of Hyrule, Marin," Tarin said. "Imagine what an honor it would be to be a part of that! The first alliance between the Hylians and Zoras in centuries, started because of us."

It was impossible to say no to him as his eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Very well," she said, forcing another smile. "I'll do it."

…

When the day came, Marin still couldn't fight the deathly feeling she felt about it. Even so, she left her home with Tarin, Rune, Medilia, and Link, who was now six years old. She had never journeyed far beyond the village's gates, so she convinced herself that her upset stomach was nerves due to this, rather than a premonition of what was to come.

The trek to Zora's Domain was long and hard – despite being relatively close to Hateno Village by sheer distance, they were separated by many dangerous mountains. The closest thing to a straight path took them all the way to Central Hyrule before looping back to Lanayru, where they would still have to cross the swamp and navigate along the twists of Zora River.

Still, it wasn't entirely miserable – Rune and Medilia, despite being rather distant neighbors, were rather pleasant traveling companions and made smalltalk throughout the trek. They spent a couple of nights in small villages along the way, where they were the center of attention and treated like kings. And Link was as adorable as ever, quickly growing attached to Marin.

It was because of this attachment that he was holding her hand and walking beside her when disaster struck along the Zora River. If he hadn't been, he likely would have been killed.

Tarin had told a joke of some sort – perhaps about the small squadron of Bokoblins they had recently and rather easily dispatched of, but Marin couldn't recall given the circumstances that followed. As she laughed – a loud, hearty laugh that Marin could have listened to for hours – Medilia was suddenly struck from behind. One moment, grinning and happy. The next, dead, two arrows sticking out of the back of her neck, her face buried in the mud. Rune and Tarin had let their guard down for hardly a second and something – or someone – had managed to get the jump on them.

They likely screamed for her to protect Link, but she had already elected to do so on her own power and was no longer processing anything else. She scooped the child up – for that moment of panic, he was hardly heavier than a Cucco, though he was far from a small child – and buried his face in her chest as she ran, her eyes darting around to search for threats. Fortunately, they all seemed to be behind her. She ran until she could run no longer and finally collapsed.

Link was crying, but she shushed him, insisting that he remain silent as she found a place behind a bush where they could hopefully go unnoticed. It felt like they sat there for hours – hours that she spent replaying the moment Medilia was struck, or dreadful thoughts of Tarin in the same position as his murderers came hunting for her and the child. Link was surprisingly quiet throughout the whole ordeal, though she could only imagine what awful things were running through his mind.

Finally, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. She pulled Link closer to herself, fearing the worst, but it was fortunately only Tarin. She nearly jumped out of the bush and ran to him. He was only barely scuffed up, but he was alone. The moment she realized this, her blood ran cold.

"Sir Rune?" she choked out.

Tarin shook his head.

"What… who…?"

"The Yiga Clan," he responded. "Sir Rune cut down most of them, but one managed to sneak behind him and slice his—" His voice failed him on the last words. "I took it down myself. We're safe now."

Both Marin and Tarin were suddenly made painfully aware of Link's presence. "Mommy and daddy are gone?"

Marin kneeled down. "I'm sorry, sweetheart… They're gone."

Surprisingly, he didn't shed a single tear. "Your mommy and daddy are gone, too, aren't they?"

She nodded.

"Do they ever come back?"

She smiled sadly at his innocence. "Yes. They'll come to visit every night in your dreams to tell you they love you and miss you. They'll watch over you every day, wishing they could touch your face one more time and tell you how proud they are of you."

"Really?"

"Absolutely."

"Come on," Tarin interrupted gruffly, surprising Marin. "We should keep going."

"To Zora's Domain?" Marin asked, surprised. "What if they send more Yiga for Link? We should—"

"They would come for him if we went home, too," he retorted. "We should at least finish our mission."

Marin knew from his tone that this was not a matter to be discussed.

…

They made it home safely, though the trip home was much less pleasant. Tarin was clearly affected by the battle with the Yiga and had no interest in conversation, instead focusing on keeping a sharp eye all around them to ensure no more sneak attacks would occur. Upon seeing their party was short two members, the villages they visited kept a mournful distance. Link spent most of his time asleep, a fact that Marin was thankful for as it meant he wasn't worrying about his parents. From his mood when he was awake, his dreams were pleasant, rather than nightmarish as she would expect. She hoped this was a result of her encouragement, although part of her believed Link was merely hiding his true struggles.

When they arrived at their house, Tarin disappeared into its depths without another word, leaving Marin to decide what to do with Link. She made him a small bed near hers and Tarin's.

"Am I staying here now?" he asked, the first thing he had said since they left Zora's Domain.

Marin nodded. "For now, at least," she replied simply. "We'll discuss with the elders if there's a better long-term solution." Marin knew there wasn't. Rune and Medilia had no living relatives that she was aware of, which meant, as Link's nursemaid and a married woman without children, she would be the elders' first choice.

She sat over Link as he fell back asleep that night, distracting herself with knitting rather than attempting to fall asleep. She knew that as soon as she closed her eyes, she would see Medilia's death once more.

Tarin eventually emerged, sitting beside her rather than attempting to sleep, either. Marin knew he would have the same issue, but worse – he would have to watch Rune die, as well.

"I'm sorry," he finally said after a long time of them sitting in silence.

"For what?" she asked.

"I should have listened to you. We shouldn't have gone."

Marin frowned and thought about this for a few minutes. "If we hadn't, Link would surely be dead, too," she stated, and that was that. Regardless of how she felt, it was for the best that they had joined Rune and Medilia on that journey.

Another several minutes of silence passed before Marin let out a sob. She was as surprised to hear it as Tarin, but once it escaped, endless more followed, joined by a steady flow of tears. Tarin stood from his chair and knelt in front of her, placing a comforting hand on her leg.

"I'm a horrid wife," Marin choked out.

"What in Hades has given you that idea?"

"I want you to leave the Knights."

Tarin didn't answer.

"I never wanted you to be a knight. I always hoped you would be rejected. It's so awful. Your childhood dream and I've always hoped it would be crushed." More loud sobs. "Tarin, I need you. It's awful to be here alone. And now, we have Link…" She had forgotten Link was sleeping nearby, but as far as she was aware, he never woke up. Still, she attempted to quiet herself down. "I can't raise him on my own. Goddess, I'm not even twenty yet! I can't raise a six-year-old. I know you've always wanted to be a knight, but I don't want you to go back. Goddess, I'm so selfish! I don't want you going on those missions ever again. I want to start a family with you. I want to have a little farm. That's all I've ever wanted. I can't let you—" The last words went unspoken, but painfully clear.

 _I can't let you end up like Rune and Medilia._

Yet another long silence passed, this one filled with the occasional choked back sob from Marin. "Very well," Tarin finally said, standing. "When I return to Hyrule Castle in the morning, I'll let them know I resign."

Marin's sobbing abruptly stopped. She wished she had never said anything. "Tarin…"

"You're right," he responded gently. "I've lived my childhood dream, Marin. I served my kingdom. But I'm not a child anymore. I have a duty to you, too, and I haven't been fulfilling it. I want to fix that."

Another tear fell as Tarin kissed the top of her head.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too."

…

Despite their youth, Tarin and Marin adapted surprisingly well to parenthood. Tarin continued to train Link as a knight in Rune's honor, despite Marin's misgivings, and he became one of them the day after his sixteenth birthday. His recruitment was a total accident – a troupe of knights were passing by and decided to pay a visit to Sir Rune's grave and saw Link practicing his sword skill. They challenged him to battle mostly as a joke. He defeated every one of them, including the captain, without breaking a sweat.

"Please be careful," Marin begged. "Don't be too reckless, alright?" She knew this plea fell on deaf ears. Link was a reckless child by nature. It was only to be expected – he was still Sir Rune's son.

"Write often," Tarin requested as he handed Link a sword – the sword Rune had gifted him for his second birthday. Link looked at it, then at Tarin, who nodded but didn't say a word.

"I'll visit as soon as I can," Link promised. Tarin and Marin watched as he walked to the gate. A horde of Hateno villagers stood behind them, excited to see the son of Sir Rune follow in his footsteps. Only Tarin and Marin – and perhaps a few of the younger girls; with his mysterious silence, golden hair, and impressive parentage, he was quite the popular bachelor, though he never seemed to be aware of it – were the only ones sad to see him leave.

…

Some miserably lonely days passed as Marin attempted to adjust to Link's absence, when one day Tarin arrived home with another one of his secretive grins.

"Goddess, Tarin, you're awful at keeping secrets," she remarked with a laugh as soon as he stepped through the door. "What is it now?"

Instead of responding, Tarin brandished a piece of paper. Marin squinted to read it.

"A deed?" she asked.

"To Old Man Kafei's farm."

Marin's eyes widened. "You…?"

"For us. For you."

Marin practically leaped into his arms in joy.

…

It didn't take long for Marin to prove farm life truly was the life for her. It was also an excellent boon on their finances – they had only barely scraped by raising Link on the Rupees granted to Tarin for his service and the small income from Marin's sewing, but now they were providing food for the entirety of Hateno Village and many other towns nearby.

Almost a year after the farm was purchased, Marin woke up one morning with a funny feeling. It took her a few moments to realize what was wrong, but once she did, she immediately began tapping Tarin furiously to wake him up.

"What?" he asked groggily.

"Tarin. It's that time of month," she stated.

"…Okay… Do you want me to get you a new gown?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm just fine."

Still mostly asleep, it took Tarin some time to process what Marin was implying. Once it clicked, he jolted upright. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Positive," she responded, a wide smile on her face.

Overjoyed, Tarin pulled her in for a celebratory kiss.

…

They worked hard to prepare for the ensuing arrival of the baby. Marin spent most of her time sewing clothes, even after Princess Zelda graciously sent them an enormous pile made by the royal seamstress as a courtesy to Link, who had become her personal knight. Tarin doubled his work on the farm in an attempt to increase their profits. Six months into the pregnancy, everything seemed perfect for the child's arrival. And yet, Marin woke up once more with a dark feeling in her stomach, the same she felt leading up to the trip to Zora's Domain.

"Should we call the doctor?" Tarin asked anxiously. He had learned not to doubt her intuition.

"No… No, we need to stay home," Marin replied. "Something is coming."

That something was the Calamity.

They knew it was coming, just as everyone did – Marin dreaded the day more than anything in her life, ever since Link was chosen by the Master Sword to be the one to face it. It was hardly a surprise that he was destined to be the hero, but it certainly was the cause of a few early gray hairs.

When it finally happened, though, she was so concerned with protecting her unborn child and helping to calm to residents of Hateno that the thought of Link hardly crossed her mind. She was certain he would slay the Calamity, just as his predecessors did before.

And yet, the Calamity's attack continued, seemingly with no end. Hordes of Hylians from across the kingdom came fleeing into Hateno. The rumors they brought with them only served to rile up the residents even more. Marin refused to believe a single one – she knew Link would be safe.

Finally, the world seemed to stand still. Marin was out gathering food for the strangers who she and Tarin had offered shelter in their farm, but she knew something was different. Part of her considered the possibility that the world had ended and they were all now dead.

Then someone came running for her. "Marin!" they cried. Later, she couldn't recall who it was. "You got a visitor!"

She stepped out of the barn. This visitor was no mere visitor – it was the princess herself.

"Are you Marin?" she asked.

Marin nodded, her heart sinking beneath her stomach.

Zelda smiled at her bulging stomach. "How far along are you?"

"Six months." Marin choked down a sob. "You needn't say anything, Princess. I know why you're here. He's dead, isn't he?"

Zelda's smile faltered. "No. Link is… alive."

Marin was surprised. "Then what are you doing here?" Perhaps that wasn't the right way to speak to a princess, but it hardly seemed to matter.

"He's alive… but gravely injured. I'm sure you've heard, but the Calamity was able to take control of the Guardians and Divine Beasts. We've lost contact with the Champions… Hyrule has fallen." So the rumors were true. "Link gave his all to protect me. The Sheikah have taken him to a place where he will recover…"

"How did this happen?" Marin asked weakly. "I thought the hero won. Isn't that how destiny's supposed to work?"

"We haven't lost yet, Marin," Zelda said encouragingly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hyrule will rise from the ashes." She paused, looking down to Marin's stomach again. "Your child. Do you have a name picked out?"

"Uma," Marin responded. "After my grandmother."

"Keep her safe. Link will need her help someday."

Marin looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"I'm so sorry, Marin…" Zelda whispered. "The place where Link is being taken… it will take him one hundred years to fully recover."

"A hundred…?"

"I'm so sorry."

Marin collapsed into sobs in the middle of the street.

…

The princess soon left for Hyrule Castle, where she would use her powers to keep the Calamity at bay until Link returned. With his power weakened, the days that would later be named the Age of Burning Fields began – though the Calamity could no longer ravage Hyrule, his monsters and Guardians were still at large, and Hyrule's natural balance had been permanently displaced. Hateno and Kakariko Villages, protected by the Dueling Peaks, hardly had enough resources to provide for the whole kingdom. It took many years for them to repair the land and become self-sufficient once more.

Uma was born two weeks early, just as her adoptive brother before her, and was Marin and Tarin's only biological child. Marin and Tarin raised her to the best of their ability. At the respective ages of ninety and ninety-two, they passed peacefully.

But a few months before Uma's one hundredth birthday, a strange young man arrived in town. A traveler with an odd amount of curiosity about the history of Hyrule.

"The Great Calamity, yes... I didn't come along until everything was already over... I was born during the Age of Burning Fields."


End file.
